The cleaning art has developed a number of various forms of floor cleaner including, for example, liquids, gels, particulates and slurries. In the past, the principle focus has been on liquid floor cleaners.
Liquid floor cleaners, intended for commercial use, can be problematic in manufacture and use. For instance, being dilute, the inherent added volume of diluent in the liquid cleaner results in higher shipping costs due to the added bulk. Also, the added volume of a liquid requires greater storage space both at the location of manufacture and at the location of use. The increased volume and overall size of a liquid cleaner also results in a higher packaging cost. One of the most critical problems faced by the use of a liquid floor cleaner is the hazard of manufacturing, shipping and applying a product which tends to have an elevated caustic character.
To overcome these problems, our research has refocused on concentrated floor cleaning compositions which are manufactured as a cast solid and then diluted and mixed at the point of application. The solid floor cleaner, in turn, eliminates many of the hazards resulting from the manufacture, shipment and use of a caustic liquid floor cleaner. Also, the use of a solid floor cleaner composition, which may be diluted at the point of application, provides many economies of packaging, shipping and storage which are unattainable with a high bulk liquid floor cleaners.
However, one of the problems encountered in the manufacture and use of solid floor cleaning concentrates is the formation of residual films on the surface of application. Certain post-application processes such as vacuum suctioning, rinsing, or the like will eliminate a residual film on the surface of application. However, the application environment is not always conducive to the use of such post-application processes. Furthermore, these processes have to be strictly followed to completely prevent film formation. Finally, the need to use these post-application processes reduces the economy and efficiency of the entire cleaning process.